User:Gakon5/Blocks That Matter

Blocks That Matter is a video game.

Development
Blocks That Matter was announced by developer Swing Swing Submarine on February 22, 2011. This would be the studio's first commercial game. Previously the studio had released Tuper Tario Tros., a freeware computer game which combines elements of Tetris with the world of Super Mario Bros.. In devising a concept for their next game, Swing Swing Submarine wanted to create a successor to Tuper Tario Tros. without actually developing a direct sequel. Programmer Guillame Martin said the team also "wanted to give a tribute to all the blocks games we love." The acronym for Blocks That Matter, BTM, also stands for the three titles that inspired the mechanics of the game: Boulder Dash, Tetris, and Minecraft. In an interview with Armless Octopus, designer William David expressed the studio's initial concern that Blocks That Matter would be perceived as having directly stolen ideas from Tetris and Minecraft. However, the team was confident that the game's combination of mechanics would create "a unique experience that has very little in common with Tetris and Minecraft".

The game was released on the Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace on May 12, 2011. In August 2011, Blocks That Matter earned the Grand Prize in Microsoft's 2011 Dream Build Play competition, earning Swing Swing Submarine $40,000 and a publishing deal with Microsoft on Xbox Live Arcade. Blocks That Matter first reached PC platforms on August 19, 2011 through the digital distribution platform Steam. The game is now also available digitally through Indievania, Desura, GamersGate, and Gameolith.

Story
In Blocks That Matter, the player controls Tetrobot, a small robot created by indie game developers Alexey and Markus (references to Alexey Pajitnov and Markus Persson, the respective creators of Tetris and Minecraft). At the beginning of the game, the two are kidnapped by an unknown person. Tetrobot is then remotely activated by the developers in order to rescue them.